Thursday, May 11, 2006
More appointments and a road race
Barium tastes awful and has a hideous texture. It also gives me unrelenting gas. Please, do not ask me, "Which flavor would you like, berry or banana?" I would not like either flavor. Do not pretend you are doing me a favor by giving me a choice.
So today I went to get a nuclear shot, then I went to drink the barium (they made me feel bad that I wasn't able to drink enough, but really...the last time I went through this, I vomited their precious barium all over the floor in the scan room)--at which point Brian showed up--and have an i.v. jabbed into my arm, then I had the scan. Am I becoming allergic to the iodine? Either so, or they squirted me with an extra huge dose. I felt the familiar heat in my eyeballs and my groin (it's a side-effect of being squirted with iodine...you get hot as the stuff burns through your veins) but this time I felt like it was harder to breathe and my throat got hot and I got an awful taste in my mouth, and did I mention it seemed unusually hard to breathe? That can't be right...
After that Brian and I went back to the nuclear medicine waiting room and after a while I notified them that I was present. I slept while Brian waited with me and woke up when they came to give me the bone scan. The first stop was the bathroom, where I had gas from the barium and had extreme difficulty urinating as commanded. Firstly, I tend to not be able to urinate on command, and secondly it's been difficult for me for some reason lately. I'd suspect a mild UTI, but I'm too lazy to investigate. The bone scan was actually kind of peaceful, because it only required me to be still. I didn't have to worry about when to breathe or not breathe like with the CT scan.
On the way home, I am pleased to report that my route turned out to be faster than Brian's and/or more efficient. I took Fuller until it became Geddes to 123 to 14 to Ford road. Brian expected to be home and have his feet up by the time I got there but sweet, sweet victory was denied him as he walked in the door and there I was, toasting some Pop Tarts. Hee.
So today I went to get a nuclear shot, then I went to drink the barium (they made me feel bad that I wasn't able to drink enough, but really...the last time I went through this, I vomited their precious barium all over the floor in the scan room)--at which point Brian showed up--and have an i.v. jabbed into my arm, then I had the scan. Am I becoming allergic to the iodine? Either so, or they squirted me with an extra huge dose. I felt the familiar heat in my eyeballs and my groin (it's a side-effect of being squirted with iodine...you get hot as the stuff burns through your veins) but this time I felt like it was harder to breathe and my throat got hot and I got an awful taste in my mouth, and did I mention it seemed unusually hard to breathe? That can't be right...
After that Brian and I went back to the nuclear medicine waiting room and after a while I notified them that I was present. I slept while Brian waited with me and woke up when they came to give me the bone scan. The first stop was the bathroom, where I had gas from the barium and had extreme difficulty urinating as commanded. Firstly, I tend to not be able to urinate on command, and secondly it's been difficult for me for some reason lately. I'd suspect a mild UTI, but I'm too lazy to investigate. The bone scan was actually kind of peaceful, because it only required me to be still. I didn't have to worry about when to breathe or not breathe like with the CT scan.
On the way home, I am pleased to report that my route turned out to be faster than Brian's and/or more efficient. I took Fuller until it became Geddes to 123 to 14 to Ford road. Brian expected to be home and have his feet up by the time I got there but sweet, sweet victory was denied him as he walked in the door and there I was, toasting some Pop Tarts. Hee.
Labels: bone scan, Brian, CT scan
